New homes dudded over NBN, says Turnbull

Opposition communications spokesman
Malcolm Turnbull
says the government's "prejudice" against the private sector left about 35,000 new homes connected to copper instead of fibre cable last year.

Mr Turnbull said fewer than 1000 premises in new building estates were connected to fibre cable last year while Australia's largest telecommunications company, Telstra, installed about 35,000 homes and units to its copper network.

By the end of 2011, 109,988 premises in greenfields estates remained on NBN Co's waiting list.

"Nothing could more clearly demonstrate the disastrous nature of the NBN Co's decision to take over the provision of fibre installations in greenfields sites," Mr Turnbull said in a statement on Thursday.

"That decision seriously undermined a thriving industry of private-sector fibre providers and it has also resulted in 35,000 new Australian homes being installed with copper – so derided by Senator [Stephen]
Conroy
– instead of fibre."

Mr Turnbull said there was no argument between the government and the opposition about providing fibre to homes in greenfields developments, despite their differences over the cost of connecting all homes to a fibre cable network.

"The failure to provide fibre to so many new homes is a direct consequence of Senator Conroy's blind prejudice against the private sector providing fibre connections in greenfields developments," he said.

Under the universal service obligations to provide fixed-line phone connections, Telstra would connect new housing estates of under 100 premises, typically with copper, while NBN Co would roll out fibre in estates larger than 100 homes.